Music Hall Monday: Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington DC

As all eyes of the world are focused on tomorrows inauguration of Barack Obama as the nation's 44th President, I thought it was a good week to focus on The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

The Kennedy Center, located on the banks of the Potomac River near the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., opened to the public in September 1971. But its roots date back to 1958, when President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed bipartisan legislation creating a National Cultural Center. To honor Eisenhower's vision for such a facility, one of the Kennedy Center's theaters is named for him.

Here is a video of Beyonce singing "The Way We Were" in honor of Barbra Streisand at the 2008 Kennedy Center Honors Awards ceremony, held in the Opera House at the Center.







The Center was designed by American architect Edward Durell Stone (1902-1978). The Kennedy Center features a 630-foot long, 60-foot high grand foyer. Cyril M. Harris designed the interiors and auditoriums - including the double box design used to keep out the noise of air traffic. The three main theaters at the Kennedy Center are the Opera House (2,300 seats), Concert Hall (2,441 seats), and the Eisenhower Theater (1,100 seats).

Sweden's gifts to the Kennedy Center are 18 Orrefors crystal chandeliers and matching wall sconces that need a total of 8,000 lightbulbs. Each chandelier is 15 feet long, seven feet in diameter and weighs one ton.

Orrefors crystal chandeliers from the Kennedy Center available at Belvair for Modern Living.

Eight mirrors, 58 feet high and nine feet wide, are Belgium’s gift to the Kennedy Center.

Twenty brass planters along the Grand Foyer and throughout the building are India’s gifts to the Center.




Bust of President John F. Kennedy by American sculptor Robert Berks

The crystal chandeliers in the main Concert Hall were made by Hadelands Glassworks and were a gift from Norway.





The Opera House is the setting for the annual Kennedy Center Honors televised event celebrating the highest honor for the performing arts. The crystal chandelier by Lobemyr was a gift from Austria.





The Eisenhower Theater hosts mainly plays and musicals, operas, ballet and contemporary dance.









Here is a video tour of the Kennedy Center:





All images are from The Kennedy Center or here and credits belong to the copyright holder. No rights are granted here.

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Resolute in Ought Nine - And the Winner is!

Congratulations to the "Self Confessed Lamp Tramp" - you are the winner of Tracy Glover's beautiful handblown glass lamp! Your resolutions reflect your post-Katrina difficulties as well as a positive approach towards moving onwards and upwards! That you're a New England native didn't hurt either!




Tracy and I thank all of you for sharing your 2009 resolutions - serious, silly and everything in between!

And a big thanks to Tracy for offering this beautiful lamp. You're so lucky Lamp Tramp and I hope you'll share photos of the lamp in your house with us all!

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Passages: Andrew Wyeth (1917-2009)

All images courtesy of Soyersart.com

Andrew Wyeth's official website is here.

From Wikipedia page :

Wyeth was often referenced by cartoonist Charles M. Schulz (a longtime admirer) in the comic strip Peanuts. In one strip the character Snoopy was presented with a bill for "psychiatric help" 20 cents and states "I refuse to sell my Andrew Wyeth". In another strip, Snoopy's prized Van Gogh painting is burned in a fire, and he replaces it with an Andrew Wyeth.^[12] Fred Rogers, from the PBS television series Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, had an Andrew Wyeth painting in the entry way of the studio home, readily seen as he entered and exited.

Tom Duffield, the production designer for the American remake of The Ring, drew inspiration from Wyeth's paintings for the look of the film. M. Night Shyamalan based his movie The Village on paintings by Andrew Wyeth.^[13] The Village was filmed in Chadds Ford not far from Wyeth's studio. ^[14]Director Philip Ridley has stated that his 1990 film The Reflecting Skin is heavily inspired by the paintings of Andrew Wyeth in its visual style.

Visit Andrew Wyeth's Wikipedia page for live links above.

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Boston's Mohr & McPherson opens SOWA showroom

Very cool Boston showroom Mohr & McPherson has opened a new showroom in Boston's trendy SOWA district.

Here's a small sampling of what they carry:



Happy Shopping!

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Reminder: Resolute in Ought Nine contest is ending!

Just a quick reminder that our Resolute In Ought Nine contest comes to a close tomorrow. Share with us a Resolution or two, or how you're keeping on track.

So click here to enter!

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Travel Tuesday: Sydney, Australia

Yesterday, we visited the spectacular Sydney Opera House. I thought it only made sense to showcase some of the beautiful hotels in the area today! So, sit back, relax and enjoy our tour of Sydney Hotels.


The Shangri-La

Have a nice dinner overlooking Sydney Harbor and the Opera House...

Don't you just love the gigantic paper lamps suspended over this lobby area. And the light from the windows is so beautiful.
How great is this view of the Opera House outside the window?
I'm loving this headboard! The design is simple, but the scale is luxe and the fabric has a changeable quality that seems very interesting.



The Storrier
I really enjoy the interesting use of varied materials throughout this hotel.The lucite furniture really adds to the light and ethereal quality of this dining room. Note the Kelly Wearstler trellis wallpaper used inside the ceiling inset.


There's a little touch of Dorothy Draper in this washroom. The door frames and over the top faucet. I wonder, tho, how much the water splashes in the sink. And how cute is the wallpaper?






Hilton Hotel

Look at that sculpture! Talk about drawing the eye upwards!

It's hard to imagine this is the same hotel - but it appears to be...




The Observatory Hotel

Wouldn't you love to loll around and do slow laps in this pool?

And then snuggle up in the comfy white robe.

And snooze away...


So, ready to hop on a plane and head off to Sydney?

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